Snap lock for sail slide tracks



Nov. 22, 1949 M. R. SOUSA I SNAP LOCK FOR SAIL SLIDE TRACKS Filed Aug. 25, 1947 Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES PA 7 ,'2,4ss,6414 I SNAP LOCK FOR sAILsL'InE TRACKS" Manuel R.Sousa,'] 3ristol,.lt. i y it Application August23, ieij s r ai 11 '1,

The present invention relates to sail slide tracks for spars and the like, and has particular reference to a novel releasable snap lock for the sail slides.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a releasable snap look over which the sail slides may freely pass, but which normally prevents release of the sail slides from the slide track.

Another object of the invention is to provide a releasable snap lock for sail slides, which is spring held in slide locking position and has a manually engageable lever for releasing the snap lock and permitting removal of the sail slides from the sail slide track.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a compact sail slide lock which may be readily mounted on a spar or mast for cooperating with a standard sail slide track.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, the invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claim appended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing a sail in stretched condition, with the new releasable snap lock mounted on the mast and spar for cooperation with the sail slide tracks;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of one mounted snap lock, the sail slides being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, the movable parts being indicated in dotted lines for release of the sail slides; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

It has been found desirable to provide an improved snap lock for a sail slide track, whereby the sail slides may be readily slid over the lock to engage the sail track but cannot be removed or released until the lock is manually moved to releasing position. To this end, I have devised a simple and eiTective snap lock, which includes a short section of track adapted to be aligned with the sail slide track, and a lock element which is spring pressed to project into the path of the sail slides and which has a cam face, whereby the sail slides may engage the cam face and displace it to permit mounting, but cannot be removed until the cam face is manually shifted out of the path of the sail slides.

Referring to the drawings, the mast is designated l0 and the boom II in Fig. 1, and respectively include sail tracks l2 and I3 on which sail slides 14 are slidingly mounted. Each sail track has a terminal snap lock mounting l5 which has a small track section l6 adapted to function as a continuation of the sail track and secured to the mast or boom by screws I'I positioned in suitable openings I 8 in the central depressed portion of the track, the mounting including a body portion I9 which is seated in a suitable recess or slot 20 in the mast or boom.

A look stop 2|, see Figs. 2 and 3, is keyed to a pivot pin 22 rotatably mounted in the body portion [9 to extend outwardly through a slot 23 in the central depressed portion of the track, and is spring held in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 by a coil spring 24 which has one end hooked through an opening 25 in the lock stop and the other end secured to a fixed pin 26 in the body portion. One end 21 of the pin 22 extends laterally from the body portion as shown in Fig. 4 and has the hub 28 of a finger operable pawl 29 keyed thereto, whereby turning pressure on the pawl 29 causes the lock stop to swing back out of the path of sliding movement of the sail slides.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 3, the upper portion 30 of the lock stop 2| is flat and extends outwardly so that the lower edges of the sail slides beyond the lock stop rest thereon, and the lower portion 3! of the lock stop is notched as indicated at 32 to seat on the lower edge 33 of the slot 23. The lock stop thus functions as an abutment which blocks removal of the sail slides, except when the pawl 29 is manually moved to shift the lock stop back and thus permit removal of the sail slides. The lower portion 3| has its outer edge 34 arcuately shaped to be engaged by the upper edges of the sail slides and thrust backwardly and inwardly against the tension of the coil spring 24, whereby the sail slides may pass and are thus readily mounted on the sail slide tracks.

The above described construction is thus simple to operate and inexpensive to manufacture and install, as the parts are readily made of metal and quickly assembled and permits quick mounting of the sail slides while preventing inadvertent or accidental release of the sail slides from the sail slide tracks.

While I have described a specific embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that changes in the size, shape and arrangement of the parts may be made to suit the requirements for difierent snap locks for sail slide tracks, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A snap lock for a sail slide track comprising a body portion and a track portion adapted to be secured to a mast or boom, said track portion being adapted to slidably receive sail slides and having a slot, said body portion having a pivot pin, a lock stop keyed to said pivot pin and having a part extending'through said slot'into the path of movement of the sail slides; a coil-spring in said body portion engaging said lock stop and urging it into the path of movement of the sail slides, the lower portion of said-lockstop engaging the edge of the slot to lock the sail slides against movement in one direction; and-adapted to be engaged by the sail gslides whflngsliding.in the opposite direction for swinging the lock stop out of the path of the sail slides againstflthejtension of the coil spring, said pivot pin having a manually operable pawl keyed thereto for manually swinging the lock stop out of the path of movement of the sail slides.

MANUEL R. SOUSA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of, this patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,946,833 Brown Feb. 13, 1934 1 1,; 22 12319 Myers May 20, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS :Number Country Date 6,433 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1896 

